January 25, 2009

Chamiers road flyover

The city will have another flyover soon. The Chennai Corporation is set to begin work on a flyover to link Cenotaph Road and Turnbulls Road at the junction of Chamiers Road in Nandanam in mid-February. Metrowater, which has already begun shifting water and sewage line connections by closing off Cenotaph Road till Tuesday, will take up the shifting of water and sewage lines on Turnbulls Road during the weekend to enable Mumbai-based Gammon India Limited to begin work on the Rs 14 crore flyover. Removal of the median on a stretch of Turnbulls Road is also in progress. Gammon India Limited, which has constructed three flyovers in T Nagar, has been asked by the Corporation to complete the one at Cenotaph Road-Turnbulls Road in nine months. Though the new flyover will reduce traffic congestion on the busy stretch, vehicle users are more worried about the traffic diversions during the flyover work. While the traffic police said route diversion was unavoidable and appealed to vehicle users to cooperate with the authorities, corporation commissioner Rajesh Lakhoni promised to try and minimise the traffic problems in the area till the flyover was completed. “Foundation work of the flyover will take two months for completion after which we can consider allowing traffic on the usual route,” he told The Times of India. The corporation has already paid necessary charges to the Tamil Nadu Electricity Board and Chennai Telephones to shift electricity and phone lines. The two departments have already shifted some of the posts and wire connections to enable the flyover work to begin. The rest would be shifted after work begins. The civic body is in the process of acquiring 20,400 sq ft of land from either side of the two roads while some affected persons have filed a case in the Madras high court. The case will come up for hearing on January 29. Originally, the flyover was planned on Chamiers Road. It may be noted that a stretch of Chamiers Road from the Nandanam-Anna Salai junction to Cenotaph Road was made oneway during August last year and that had resulted in reduction of traffic congestion to a great extent on Chamiers Road and Cenotaph Road.OVERHEAD CARRIAGEWAYFlyover will link Cenotaph Road and Turnbulls Road at Chamier Road junction in Nandanam Mumbai-based Gammon India Limited to begin the Rs 14 crore flyover work in mid-February Flyover expected to reduce traffic congestion on Cenotaph Road-Turnbulls Road-Chamiers Road junction The civic body in the process of acquiring 20,400 sq ft of land Metrowater has begun shifting water and sewage line connections by closing off Cenotaph Road